Elendighet og håp
by BlueCotingaGirl
Summary: The Nordic nations haven't been getting along well lately, but when one of them is in grave danger, they must find the will to cooperate and save their loved one..and themselves. Slight SuFin, eventual DenNor and some others.
1. Chapter 1: Fragile emotions

**After being introduced to them, I've taken a liking to a certain group of characters: The Nordic Five.**

**They're currently my second favorite grouping after the three Baltic States, so I thought that they deserved a chance to appear majorly in one of my stories. I'm not basing this on any historical event, and I'm using country names.  
**

**Denmark: Yay for me! And the rest of us too, but mostly me. :D  
**

**Iceland: Shut it Denmark.  
**

**Sweden: H'lp me. -_-  
**

**Finland: -Celebrating with salmiakki-**

**Norge: -Looks up from book- Go on.**

**This multi chapter fic will be starring: Denmark and Norway!**

**Denmark: YEAH! Gimmie a hug Norge! :D**

**Norge: Oh boy...  
**

**And it will also be featuring: Iceland, Finland, Sweden, England, Italy.**

**With some appearances from: Sealand, America, Germany, Romano, Russia, the three Baltics, Poland and more!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 1**

Autumn in Europe.

It's a beautiful time of year, especially if you lived in Northern Europe.

As the cool breeze is unleashed, it lifts brightly colored leaves and blows them past the window of a large house, where all is peaceful.

However, the silence didn't last.

"NOOORRRGGGEEE!" A loud, cheery Dane rushed down the stairs, calling for his best friend. Said nation had his nose in a book as usual, trying his best to ignore the other man.

"I'm really bored right now, Norge."

"Mhmm." The Norwegian didn't even look at him.

"So, what do you think I should do?"

Norway made a face. "How about you leave me alone?" He muttered, turning his back to Denmark.

Of course, Denmark didn't catch any of it. "Norge, whatcha reading?" He leaned over to try and read out of the book, but to his dismay, it was nothing but mythology. "That's so boring, man! How come you're still looking at that after two hours?"

Norway finally looked up. "Don't you have something better to do, like prancing around in the meadow or something?"

"But I'm lonely.."

"Or, you could just play games on your laptop. Much less lonely than sitting around."

That did it. Within minutes, Denmark was up the stairs and in his room.

The other blond sighed in relief, glad to maintain his peace...only to hear a loud explosion five minutes later, which brought the attention of the other Nordic nations.

"Noooooorrrrggggggeeeeee, this is an emergency!" Denmark cried as he made his way back down. He was covered in black dust, holding a rather dented laptop; it seemed that he had blown it up by accident.

"I won't even ask." The annoyed nation continued reading. The other three could barely hold back their laughter, though.

"Norge, the computer screen had the word 'fight' on it, so I whacked the dudes on the screen and then my computer broke! That's so unfair!"

"Maybe we could call Estonia. He's good at fixing things around here."

"B't why? C'n't y'u j'st l't me f'x it?" (But why? Can't you just let me fix it?)

"Noooooo, Sweden, you are NOT touching my laptop."

"J'st g've it t' m', I'm n't going t' d' 'nyth'ng bad." (Just give it to me, I'm not going to do anything bad.)

"Yeah, like that's the most truthful thing in the world."

"'re y'u c'll'ng m' a l'ar?" (Are you calling me a liar?) Sweden had his fists clenched by now.

"Su-san! Denmark! Can't you guys settle it another way?"

"Um, let me think...no!" They said in unison before turning back around. As the proceeded to curse at each other, Iceland put a hand to his face in disgust. None of them noticed as the fifth Nordic called their names, attempting to interrupt the struggle.

"D-Denmark? Sweden? Finland? Ice? Hello? You guys hear me?"

His soft voice was drowned out by Denmark and Sweden's punching and cursing, Finland's yelling, and Iceland threatening to call the cops. He tried again several times, but they continued on as if he was invisible.

"That's it!" A fed up Norway threw his book down, and started toward the door.

"Big brother, where are you going?" Iceland asked, finally acknowledging the Norwegian.

"I'm going for a walk. None of this is helping me one bit."

He slammed the door as he walked out, as Denmark got a dirty look from Iceland. "Nice Job,_ Danmark_."

* * *

Norway walked away from the house without turning to look back. He clenched his eyes closed as they grew wet with tears.

"W-why can't they just listen to me for once? They never do..."

Gingerly, he laid his hand on where his heart should be, feeling like it would snap in half right then and there.

For the past few months, the other four Nordics his drifted away from him considerably, including his brother and self-proclaimed "best friend". In a short amount of time, his voice was no longer heard, his presence was nothing more than a minor addition to the group, and he had come home badly beaten once, but they barely even heard him walk in. On some occasions, Denmark would give him undivided attention, but he was so persistent that it was more of a curse than a blessing. Iceland, of course, offered him the best support possible, but due to his own matters he barely had time to spend with his brother.

"If only, if only..."

Blinded by tears and lost in thought, he wandered on. At this point, he didn't even know where he was headed.

"_Fire burning in my eyes, it warms my hands when I'm alone, there's no one here to hold me tight..."_

In a soft, somber voice, Norway's feelings were expressed through one of his favorite songs.

_"Turn green meadows into gray..."_

Out of nowhere, a loud sob broke the silence. Wiping the tears out of his eyes, he found the source of the noise: Italy Veneziano.

"I-Italy?" Norway blurted out, his voice still choking from his sobs.

"Noorrwaayy! My cat went into that house, but I don't wanna go in cause England told us it was haunted! I don't know what to do!" Veneziano continued to cry.

Norway sighed deeply. Just looking at the guy like this would break his heart even further. He had to do something.

"I-it'll be alright, Italy. I...I'll come with you."

"N-Norway?" Italy said as Norway slowly opened the door to the house. "A-are you sure you don't want to surrender?"

"Italy." Norway responded, dragging Italy into the house, "There isn't anything to be afr..."

And with that, the door slammed shut, scaring the life out of the two.

* * *

**Italy: Someone help us!**

**Norway: ...**

**Denmark: Can someone please fix my laptop? No, Sweden, not you!**

**Sweden: I. G've. Up.**

**Finland: Uh, guys?**

**Iceland: -Facepalm- **

**It'll take a few days to get the next chapter ready. In the meantime, I appreciate reviews.**

**The song Norway sang before was "Misseri(Turn Green meadows into Gray)" by Leaves' Eyes, a Norwegian metal band.**


	2. Chapter 2: Unexplained happenings

**When we last saw our favorite Italian and Norwegian they were...  
**

**Italy: Heeellpp!**

**Norway: Italy, chill. I'll get us out of here.  
**

**Yeah, that pretty much explains it all. **

**Here's how it continues...  
**

**

* * *

Chapter 2**

There was a sharp scream and Veneziano was gone.

"Italy!" Norway shouted, looking around in terror. "Italy, where'd you go?"

No answer.

_Is this house really supposed to be haunted?_ Although his blank expression didn't show it, chills were running up the boy's spine, and terror was building up inside him. He backed away a few steps before the temperature suddenly took a plunge.

"So...cold..."

The next thing he knew, he felt a cold hand run across his arm-

"Nooorrwaayyy!"

Italy was hiding under an old chair. He had apparently found his cat, and was clinging onto it for dear life.

"Italy!" Taking Veneziano's hand, he pulled him out from under the chair. "Don't scare me like that."

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I thought we were being attacked and-"

"That's not our problem right now. We have to get ourselves out of here." He pushed hard on the door, but it wouldn't budge, even when Italy tried to help him. Pulling it open didn't work, either.

"Hey, why is it so cold in here?"

Norway couldn't agree more; once again, the temperature of the house had gone from mild to severely frigid, like General Winter's wrath...

"GYAAAAHHHH! Something slimy touched me!"

_"_Italy!" _Oh, god! I'd better think of something FAST!_

* * *

Iceland looked down at his pocket watch. 5:30 P.M. Norway had been gone for five hours now, and was starting to worry him.

"That does it. I'm going out to look for-"

The door flew open, revealing a heavily panting, exhausted Norway.

"Nooorrggeee!" In a split second, Denmark had his arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Put. me. Down." Despite the command, he wasn't released until several minutes later.

"Norway, where have you b- OH MY GOD, what the hell happened to your hand?".

"Oh, this. It's...um, what happens when you run into an angry cat. It's not that bad, it'll heal."

Iceland shrugged and let him off, still suspicious.

But at least he didn't know the truth. If he figured it out, Norway would be toast...

**-Earlier-**

_**"**Germany, Gerrrmaanyyy! Heeelllppp me!" Italy was screaming into his phone, even though Germany hadn't picked up._

_"Isn't the connection supposed to be broken in houses like this?"_

_"I still want Germany to rescue us! Somebody heeellpppp!" He took out a white flag and waved it around wildly._

_"I'll think of something...Oh, dear." He watched in horror as every mirror in the room shattered, reducing each of them into a pile of glass shards._

_"Broken glass..."He eyed the window next to the door, noticing it was cracked._

_In an instant, he rushed over to the window and summoned all his strengh to smash his hand through it, allowing them to escape._

**-Later that evening-**

"Guys, it's dinner time!" Finland called out from the kitchen.

"Alright, coming." Norway put his book down and started toward the dining room.

As he walked he felt a light breeze and-a hand on his shoulder?

He quickly turned his body, only to find no one there.

"Denmark, was that you?"

"What did I do?" Denmark poked his head out of the dining room.

_That's weird..._It wasn't Denmark. And it definitely wasn't Iceland, Sweden or Finland. Who else could it be?

"No, I'm just traumatized by the haunted house incident." He shook his head and continued on to the dining room.

As the five nordics sat down to eat, Iceland couldn't keep his eyes off his brother. During his "up close" inspection, he saw that Norway mostly played with his food, and barely ate anything. He wasn't the only one to notice, though.

"Norge?" Denmark sounded worried. "You don't like the food?"

"Oh, no, the food is fine. I was just...thinking."

"'b't wh't?" (About what?)

"Oh you know, stuff." Norway continued fiddling with his dinner.

The others were baffled. Even if the Norwegian was lost in thought, he wouldn't act like this. It just wasn't like Norway to truly act like depression had come over him.

"Come on, Norway. You've got to eat at some point. You'll get hungry later on."

"I'm just not in the mood for food right now."

"But Norge-"

"I'll be upstairs if you need anything." He got up and left the other four in their confusion and worry.

* * *

In his room, Norway turned on his bedside lamp and tried to read, but he could barely focus.

"No, it can't be that kind of thing, Norway, just calm down!" He whispered to himself. He began to relax a little, but still cautiously scanned the area around him.

A sharp tapping sound drew his attention. He turned to his doorway and saw this...this shadowy figure with long, black hair. The only feature he could make out was the person's bright, neon blue eyes.

"Who...are you?"

* * *

**Norway: What?**

**Me: Oh, you'll find out soon enough.**

**Iceland: Seriously, what's the problem? I need to get to the bottom of this.**

**Me: Yeah, go ahead. Meanwhile, there's more to come in Chapter 3.**

**See you later.**

**Blue Cotinga Girl, out!  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Fright Night

**Iceland: Okay, tell me everything you know.  
**

**Me: No can do. You're supposed to find out later.**

**Ice: Why not now?**

**Me: I have my reasons, you know. Apparently, so does Norway.**

**Ice: I'll talk to Italy then. *runs off***

**Me: Good luck with that. **

**Here's Chapter 3! Enjoy~**

**Note: This Chapter contains very fluffy DenNor moment, Hurt/Comfort centered =D  
**

**

* * *

Chapter 3**

"Who...are you?"

The person in the doorway didn't answer. She started to move closer to him, locking her eyes with his.

"Um, what are you doing..."

He never got the chance to finish. The mysterious woman's eyes suddenly flashed bright red.

"ACK!" He flinched in fear. When he opened his eyes, she was gone.

"What was that?" He asked himself. "Could it be a-" He couldn't say it.

Everyone knew Norway could see magical creatures and heavenly beings, but never in his life had he encountered something like this.

His thoughts were interuppted by loud singing downstairs.

"Maybe Denmark and Iceland could take my mind off these things." He said, proceeding to go downstairs.

* * *

**-10:00 P.M. that night-**

After an action-packed night of karoke, everyone was looking foward to a good night's sleep, particularly one exhausted Norwegian.

"Night, Norge!" Came a shout from across the hall.

"Night, Denmark." He said back, as he threw on his blanket. Not long after, he drifted off to dreamland.

_"Ahh, sweet heaven." Apparently, his idea of heaven was lying in a meadow and watching the sky._

_"Hey, that cloud looks like Denmark's country." He laughed at the idea of a Denmark-shaped cloud, and went back to his cloud watching._

_"Iceland, Finland, Sweden, a dipper bird, a lily...this is so much fun. I can go like this all day."_

_He focused his attention once more, only to see...a shadowy hand?_

_"Huh?" He sat up to get a better look, and was stunned by what he saw._

_There was a beautiful woman standing right next to him. Her dark hair flowing in the wind, her bright eyes and kind smile sparkling in an alluring way._

_"Hello...what's your name?" Her voice was clear as day, and to him, it was like the song of a flute._

_"M-my name is Norway?" He answered nervously.  
_

_She did not respond, she only sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. Somehow, he felt a sense of comfort, that nothing bad could happen._

_That's when he turned to look at her again..._

_His joy was quickly replaced by apprehension as her beautiful blue eyes turned to greenish yellow, reptilian orbs; her once kind smile was now a cold, villainous grin._

_"What's happening? What are you doin-"_

_He was cut off as she viciously sprang at him with sharp fingernails._

"Noooo! Don't hurt me! ACK!" Norway snapped his eyes open and sat up.

"Man, what a horrible nightmare..." He said to himself, wiping the cold sweat off his brow.

"Norge?" Came a friendly, familiar voice. "Norge, you okay in there?" Denmark stood in the doorway, looking concerned.

"Oh, hey, Denmark." His friend responded, clearly relieved at his presence.

"What happened? You were screaming and-"

"I just...had this crazy nightmare. I'm sorry if I disturbed your sleep."

"Ah, no need for an apology, Norge. Just making sure my best buddy is alright."

Norway laughed. "Hey, what's with the axe?" He asked, finally noticing it in the Dane's hand.

"Oh, I brought this in case someone was trying to rob us. Because I did hear banging from my room."

"My god, are the others awake?"

"Not one of them are. They're pretty heavy sleepers."

Norway sighed. "Okay. We should probably go back to bed now."

"Norge, I can stay with you tonight if you want."

"Um...go right ahead, I guess." He shifted to the side to make room.

"All right!" Denmark literally jumped into the bed. "Shush, Denmark...you'll wake the others."

"Oh, well. Good night, Norge."

"Good night, Denmark.."

The two fell asleep together that cold night, under the moon and the stars.

* * *

**Hungary: Aww, isn't that cute. :)**

**Norway: Umm, why is she here?**

**Me: *points to door* Unlimited character access.**

**Norway: ...**

**Denmark: :DDD**

**Me: Hmm, I wonder when Ice will be back...I'll just write chapter 4 in the meanwhile, depending on how busy I am.**

**See you next time!  
**


	4. Chapter 4: Visit to Britain

**Me: Has anyone seen Iceland?**

**Norway: He was only gone for the last chapter.**

**Me: True, but he needs to be here right now, I'm about to start the next one.**

**Ice: Back, guys.**

**Me: How'd it go?**

**Ice: As much as I tried, he kept shaking and ran away at the mere mention of "scary business."**

**Me: *shrugs* Well, at least we can finally start Chapter 4. Keep up the good work though, Ice.  
**

* * *

The morning light crept up from shadows, touching everything in sight.

"Hm?" As the sun hit his face, Denmark opened his eyes and smiled brightly.

"Ooh, how beautiful." He looked down at Norway, who was fast asleep next to him. "Hey, Norge, wake up! The sun is rising!"

Norway sat up to get a better view. "Heavenly, isn't it?" asked Denmark.

"Yes, very. Thanks for sharing it with me, _venn_." (friend)

After watching the sunrise for what seemed like forever, the two got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast.

"Why are you up so early?" A surprised Norway asked Iceland.

"Oh, I was planning my day last night, and now I've got a to-do list. I have to be an early riser if I'm gonna do all that stuff."

Norway nodded. "Of course. Just don't get into any trouble."

* * *

After breakfast, Norway went out to the porch, sitting on the new hardwood bench. Once again, his good mood was gone.

Although he had shrugged off on last night's events, the others hadn't. They questioned him so intensely that he had literally run from the room and outside. He planned to do this all day, when he heard a voice.

"N'rw'y?" Sweden called as he walked out.

"Go. Away. Please."

"N'rw'y, y'' h've t' t'll 's wh't's g'ing 'n. W' c're 'bout y'u, y'u kn'w." (Norway, you have to tell us what's going on. We care about you, you know.")

Norway closed his eyes and whispered, "If that's the case, you have nice ways of showing it."

"Wh't w's th't?"

"Nothing, I was just talking to myself again. Would you please leave me alone right now?"

"F'ne, b't 's s''n 's y'u g' 'ns'de, l't 's kn'w." The Swede said, heading back inside.

Raising an eyebrow, Norway stood up and said to the door, "If that's the case, I'm outta here."

Running off, he loudly added, "And I won't be back for a long time."

He'd done that to grab the attention of the others, although he knew he wouldn't be heard.

* * *

"There has to be a more rational way to combat global warming. Just keep thinking and maybe you'll get some ideas." *pause* No, I don't think building an AC for the world will help."

England paused again as America continued to speak through his phone. He thought that discussing the issue of global warming with him would get him to think better, but so far, England couldn't see success in any of his big ideas.

"Didn't we already discuss the giant hero plan already? We really need to get advice from the rest of the G8. France, Italy, Germany, Norway..." Wait, what?

"Hey, you didn't tell me Norway was in the G8!"

"Oh, sorry. I meant to say something else. I'll call you back later." England hung up and turned back to where he had seen-

"Norway!" Said nation stopped walking lifted his head in response. "Nice to see you, old buddy. What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Britain. I'm not up to much right now, just needed a place to think."

"Well, in that case, we can go to my house. It's much warmer there than outside."

"Sounds good. Let's go."

England smiled. "Great! I'll make us some tea and scones."

Norway's eyes widened, surprising the Brit. "Just some tea will be fine. No need for scones."

* * *

"Norway? Come on in, lunch is read-" The hardwood bench was empty when Finland laid his eyes upon it.

"Norway? Norway?" Finland searched the front yard, with no sign of Norway anywhere.

"Where is he?" Finland asked himself in concern.

"Hey, Finland!" Iceland called out from the door. "Norway just called. He's hanging out at Britain's right now."

Finland breathed a quick sigh of relief before saying, "That's good, as long as he doesn't eat any of England's food."

* * *

"So, Norway, anything new happen lately?" England said as he handed Norway his cup of tea.

Almost immediately, Norway thought of the fight, the haunted house, the questioning of the other Nordics and what he had seen last night. But it just didn't feel right to put all his problems on England.

"_Tell him just one or two, and leave the others in you mind."_ He mentally told himself.

"I have a question."

"And what would that be?"

"Um, do ghosts exist?"

England almost spat out his tea. He stared at the Nordic in shock and confusion.

"So, do they?"

For a while, the other remained silent. "Ghosts, you say?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, I know that unicorns and fairies exist, but ghosts? I'm afraid I don't have an exact answer to that. You see, there's been stories and legends in every country about them, but the truth is, no one's sure if they exist or not."

Norway nodded in response. "Thanks, England. Because that sorta ties in with what happened yesterday?"

"Hm? What happened?"

The Norwegian hesitated before whispering, "I think I met a ghost."

* * *

**Ice: *mumbling and writing stuff down on notepad***

**Me: *watching* Hmm. Nice clues there.**

**-whispers- But thankfully, he still doesn't know about the ghost.**

**Ice: What?**

**N-nothing! Anyway, Arthur and Norge's conversation continues in the next chapter, which I promise will be up soon.  
**


	5. Chapter 5: Pendulum of Fear

**Hey, I'm back!**

**A little note for this chapter: Since I'm not too used to using all country names for a story, from now on, the characters will refer to each other as their human names. ****  
**

* * *

England's eyes sparkled. "You saw a ghost, you say?"

"Yes, sir. Or, at least I think she was a ghost. She was so much like one that it sent chills up my spine."

The other smiled and said, "Oh, did she now?" He sounded extremely dark and sinister.

"England, are you all right?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm all right." He responded, as his green eyes turned to yellow.

"Hello again, dear Norway." He whispered as he took the form of a woman.

"GAH! Not you again!"

* * *

"No, no, no, no..."

"NORWAY! Norway, it's me, England, everything's all right!"

Norway gasped as he quickly sat up. "I'm sorry, England! I must have dozed off while you were making tea..."

"It's alright, Norway, it's alright. What happened?"

"I had another nightmare. It was so much like the one from last night."

"Oh, I see. How long have you been having those nightmares?"

"Since yesterday, sir."

"Hmm. Now, Norway, I'd like to ask you something."

"Go on."

"Norway, is there anything you'd like to tell me? Anything that happened recently or what you did yesterday?"

_Should I tell him about the first nightmare? I mean, he is a trustworthy person._

_Wait, no. He'll only get worried and tell the other Nordics. Then they'll never let me go. _

_But I have to tell someone. _

_I want to say yes..._

_Say...  
_

"No, England, nothing major happened."

"Oh, all right. So, how's your family?"

"They're fine, but lately, all they do is fight nonstop..."

* * *

"I can't believe him. I'm his brother, and he's not telling me anything."

An exasperated Iceland said into his phone. Fed up with Norway's behavior, he had called Hong Kong for help.

"I get that with China sometimes, but we usually get over it as quickly as possible."

"I don't think that'll happen with Norway anytime soon. What do you do when China's like that?"

"Well, I tell the entire family to question him. If that doesn't work, we send friends to talk to him. Or, we use our last-resort techniques."

"Which are?"

"Well," Hong Kong spoke slowly, "We either get Canada to spy on him, or Russia to scare him into talking."

"We've already tried option number one, which easily failed. And option number two is out of the question, since no one else knows anything."

"How do you think the last two will work out?"

"Knowing my brother, he's probably one of the few people in the world who won't be scared by Russia, and he definitely won't tell him anything. As for Canada, I don't think we even know him that well."

"That's true."

"What else do you have in mind?"

"We say nothing until he finally spills the beans?"

There was a pause.

"Yeah, who are we kidding?"

"I don't know, Hong Kong, I don't know. All this is just too much for me."

"Don't worry, you'll think of something."

There was a loud crash from the kitchen.

"Excuse me for a moment. I think Denmark threw something again."

* * *

"My trust in them is hanging by a thread as of now, and I don't feel like talking to anyone anymore."

England nodded in understanding. "I see." He put a hand on the other's shoulder.

"Thanks for not pressuring me, Arthur. You're one of the few people I still believe in."

"Oh, really?" The latter asked, delighted. "Well, we do share a mutual interest in mythology and stuff."

"True, but I can actually relate to you in more ways than others, and you're the most level-person I know."

For a moment, all the Brit could do was look at Norway in sympathy.

Then, to the Norwegian's surprise, Britain threw his arms around him.

"No one's ever told me that before." He said as a single tear spilled out of his eye.

"Well, it's true."

"Thanks, Norway. If there's anything wrong, don't hesitate to tell me, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

"Veneziano!"

As usual, Romano Vargas was pissed. But today, anyone who looked at him couldn't help but be scared.

"Veneziano, all my furniture is messed up! Did you have anything to do with this?"

"N-no!" His brother started to cry, "I swear, I didn't do anything, _fratello!"_

"If it wasn't you, then who was it? Germany?"

"No, no, Romano, Ludwig wouldn't do such a thing! He's really nice!"

"Wait, Veniziano, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

As soon as they stopped talking, the Vargas home was completely silent.

Then all of a sudden...

"AAAHHH! _Fratello,_ why is the table moving?"

The two brothers ran from the house, screaming Germany's name all the way.

* * *

Back in Scandinavia, the Nordics were still enjoying their peace.

It would have been peaceful the entire day if a scream hadn't shattered the wall of silence.

"ARRGGHHH! NOOOOO!"

Sweden leapt to his feet. "T'no!"

* * *

**Keep an eye out for the next chapter!**

**In the meantime, please review.**

**-Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


	6. Chapter 6: And here my troubles begin

**Finally done!**

**I hope you don't get mad at me for this, but my original idea for this next chapter suddenly blanked out on me, and I had to come up with something else.**

**Dear readers, I hope you accept my sincere apologies.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Three out of five nordics bolted up the stairs like they'd never ran before.

"Tino! Where are you?" Iceland pushed open the door to Tino's room, but no one was there.

"Where could he be?" Everyone started breaking into a cold sweat.

Then, from what seemed like the end of the wall, came a small gasping sound.

"T'no!" Before anyone could blink, Berwald was in Norway's room.

There, they found the Finn slumped against the wall, rubbing his neck.

"T'no, y'u 'll r'ght?" He asked worriedly, kneeling down.

*cough* "Not exactly..."

"Hm?"

"As soon as I came into this room..."

"Yes?" The three nordics pressured.

"...there were two thick arms around my neck, l-like someone was trying to strangle me."

They were all quickly silenced by those words.

Finally, Iceland spoke. "How did this happen?"

"Oh, I don't know. Unless there's some sort of presence in our home, there isn't anything I can say..." Tino could feel the wetness in his eyes.

Seeing this, Berwald pulled Tino closer to him. "'t's 'lr'ght. W'll h've t' b' c'ref'l fr'm n'w 'n, th'ugh." (It's alright. We'll have to be careful from now on, though")

Tino could only nod. Something was tugging at the string of uneasiness in his heart, but he didn't want to think about it.

* * *

"Now, was it really that bad?" Germany asked monotonously as a terrified Veneziano clung to his arm.

"You should have been there, Ludwig! There were things moving around and...and..."

"It was scary as hell, potato bastard! Where were you when you're actually useful?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." He shook his head and walked on to the Italies' house.

"Oh, shit." Romano whispered, forgetting about his anger towards Ludwig.

The house was almost completely wrecked- the windows broken, the walls cracked, and the door busted.

The three stood near the once magnificent house, completely speechless. Veneziano felt the tears coming to his eyes.

"It'll be okay, Feli...it'll take some time, but I'll be able to remodel it."

Instead of answering, the younger Italian backed away slowly and broke into a rapid sprint.

"Feliciano! Come back!" Germany tried to go after him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Any other country who saw him would have thought he was in retreat again. However, he had something else on his mind.

If anyone was going to help him, he thought, it would be the only other witness of the horrific events of yesterday.

* * *

The nordics were still upstairs when the doorbell rang.

Almost immediately, the door was answered by Denmark.

"Feliciano!" He cried as he was tackled by the Italian.

"Where's Norway, Denmark? I need him with me right now!"

"Whoa, chill, Italy. He's at Arthur's place right now, so if you need him you should run over there..."

"Then let's go!" He grabbed Denmark's arm and dragged him along.

"Wait, why am I going? Do I really have to? Well then again, I'll get to see my dear Norge..."

The other three watched as the two disappeared off into the distance.

"This day keeps getting weirder and weirder." Mumbled Iceland.

* * *

"...and since that fateful day, we gradually drifted apart, and didn't see each other until many years later." England finished

Norway nodded to show he understood.

"I get what you mean. Denmark and I were once like a commonwealth...until, well, _that _happened. I'd tell you what it was, but I think it's best if I keep silent."

"Nooorrrggggeeeeeee!"

Norway winced. "Did Denmark just call my name, or am I hallucinating again?" He put his palm on his face.

"England, Norway!" Came a familiar Italian voice. "Open up, it's me and Denmark!"

"Come on in, guys. The door is unlocked."

"England!" Veneziano jumped into England's arms, shaking like a puppy.

"Norge! This is an emergency!"

"This better be good, Denmark."

"Actually, I don't really know. Ask Feliciano."

"I-it was terrible! My fratello and I were at home, then stuff started moving and we had to run to Germany's and-and-!"

Norway put his hand on Italy's shoulder. "Calm down, Feliciano. You don't have to talk that fast."

"And then," There was a pause, "We found our house all broken down."

"Oh, my." England said quietly, "This really is an emergency. What can we do about it?"

"Well, I'm here to discuss it with Norway, since he'd probably understand."

"All right. What about you, Denmark?"

"Uh, I just wanted to see Norge."

Norway sighed and shook his head. "Italy, what do want to discuss with me?"

"You do remember what happened yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I think they came to me for revenge?"

"They?" Norway asked, seemingly confused. But deep down, he had a good idea of who "they" were, due to the events of last night.

"Yeah. But I don't have any idea of who we're dealing with here."

"Neither do I. But we can't take too long, otherwise it...might be too late to help anyone else."

* * *

"Get home safe, guys!" England waved to them from his front porch.

"Veee~ bye, amici!" Italy said before skipping away.

Denmark happily returned the goodbye, before turning to Norway.

"All right, Norge, let's...Norge? Hey, Norge?"

He walked over to Norway, who was leaning against a tree with his eyes shut.

"Norge?" He tried to touch him, only to be stopped by the other's hand.

"Don't. Come any closer."

"Norge, are you okay?"

At first, all they heard was the sound of the breeze. Finally, Norway's response came.

"I...don't feel so good."

* * *

**To make up for my extreme delay, the next chapter will be up soon, since I won't be too busy this week.**

**See you then!**

**-Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


	7. Chapter 7: Submission to Agony

**Hey, I'm back.**

**I also had to come up with material for this chapter, since I only planned up to chapter five. (Yeah, that's how I am.)**

**So excuse the four-day delay, please :) And I don't own anything. I only wrote this story. (- Yeah, I forgot to put that in the beginning chapter, since my author's note was kinda long anyway.)**

**Okay, I'm done rambling. XD**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"I don't feel so good."

It took only those words to unravel Denmark's protective, brotherly side. "Then we gotta get home quickly and tell the others."

"No." Norway said, with mistrust in his voice. "I'm not telling."

"But it could be serious, Norge! What if you're infected with some dangerous virus or somethi-"

"I said no, and that's final!" He calmed a bit before saying, "It's just a headache. It'll pass."

"Oh, okay." Denmark took Norway's arm and walked off with him, still concerned.

"Norge, are you sure it's just some headache?"

"Yes. I'm. Sure. Now stop talking to me."

"What is it that you're not telling us?"

"Nothing. Leave me alone, please."

"You could at least tell me. I'm your best friend."

"You wouldn't understand." Norway mumbled, turning away from him.

"What?" Denmark asked, releasing his grip on Norway.

The latter turned his back on Denmark and whispered, "You wouldn't understand. None of you have ever understood me. I don't think you even knew what had been going on in the past few months. All I wanted was for you guys to comprehend my feelings. And when that wish came true, all of you act like possessive nutcases, so forgive me if I'm not thrilled."

"Huh? I still can't hear you."

"It's nothing. I'm just confused about stuff right now. You know, the entire situation with Italy and England."

Denmark just nodded, and the rest of the walk home was in complete silence.

* * *

"We're home!" Denmark shouted happily as he opened the door to the Scandinavian house.

"Don't talk so loud." Norway said under his breath.

"What's up with you, Brother?" Asked Iceland.

"Nothing. Just tired, that's all." He started to walk away.

"Norge said that he had-"

"Don't finish that sentence." Norway said, almost like a threat.

"Wh't did Norw'y s'y? T'll us." (What did Norway say? Tell us.)

"It's nothing serious. Denmark, no need to blab it."

"Ok'y, Norw'y, wh't's been going on th'se d'ys? You pl'y w'th y'ur food 't d'nner, you're l'v'ng c'nst'ntly, 'nd n'w you're r'f's'ng t' s'y 'nyth'ng. You h've t' t'll us, w' 're your f'm'ly!" (Okay, Norway, what's been going on these days? You play with your food at dinner, you're leaving constantly, and now you're refusing to say anything. You have to tell us, we're your family!)

"You wouldn't understand."

"What? For your information, Norge, we're the ones who grew up with you, and the ones you've been able to relate to from day one. The fact you're treating us like is just unbelievable! What happened to the quiet and calm Norway we knew? The one who made us laugh sometimes, the one who cared about us, the perfect brother? Come on, you seriously gotta stop acting like some old grouch."

"Don't you talk to me like that." Norway softly retorted, glaring.

"Now, brother, are you gonna spill the beans, or should I get Denmark to do it?"

"Neither one."

"Okay, you asked for it. Denmark, what exactly did Norway tell you?"

"Well, Ice, we were walking and he said he had a-"

"Don't say it!"

"Norway, shut up! Now, continue, please."

At that moment, nothing could've torn Norway apart more than his entire family turning against him, especially when they found out about his headache. Then they'd never let him go.

In frustration, he yelled, "Fine! Be that way!" And ran upstairs to his room. As soon as he was inside, he secured whatever locks he had on the door, collapsed on the bed and let out the flood of tears he had been holding in for a while, falling asleep soon after.

* * *

When he woke up, it was very late in the afternoon. For a while he just sat up in bed, bored.

After several minutes, he heard a voice that asked, "Pardon me, is something wrong?"

He dried his eyes and looked at the woman standing in front of him, Norway recognizing her airy figure.

"I'm kind of in a bad mood, so not right now."

"Are you sure you don't need my company, Norway?"

"Yes, I'm sure of it. For me, the best company right now would be a rock...hey, wait a second. Why am I even talking to her? She's just a figment of my imagination!"

"Oh, is that what you think of me? Just merely air, and nothing else?" She was starting to sound malicious.

"You're not real. I have to ignore you."

"I see how it is, Norway. I'd thought visiting other people would catch your attention, but it clearly hasn't."

"Wait, what others?"

Instead of answering, all the mysterious woman did was grab his arm and dug her sharp nails into it.

"Ow! Please, stop this!"

* * *

Norway's eyes snapped open as he awoke from his third nightmare.

"Oh, god. Not again." He said as he sat up and rubbed his forehead.

As if his other two nightmares hadn't been traumatizing enough, this one was the most painful one he had since it all began. It had been so bad, Norway thought he could actually feel physical pain from it.

"Nah, it's just my imagination getting the better of me. I should really stop thinking about these things before I go to sleep."

But no matter how he tried, he couldn't push it out of his mind.

"Norway, it's a simple nightmare, nothing's wron-"

He stopped abruptly as he eyed his right arm.

Right down the middle of it was a large, horrifying red mark.

* * *

**Oh, dear...looks like our Norwegian protagonist is in trouble!**

**Man, that kid's been having some tough luck these days...**

***Sigh* What do you think of this chapter?**

**The next one should be up soon, since I'll be on spring break.**

**Take care!**

**-Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


	8. Chapter 8: Forgiveness

**Hey, I'm back. I'm extremely sorry for the late update, since test preparations are starting to take up more space in my life. Then there's also my bad case of writer's block, which I will hopefully find a cure for.**

**This chapter takes place at around the same time as the last one, only this time, it centers around what Denmark was doing.**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

"Fine! Be that way!"

As he watched Norway run up the stairs, Denmark couldn't help but feel a slight bit of stinging guilt.

"Great. What now?" Said Iceland.

Denmark shrugged and said, "I think his headache's bothering him again."

"Wait, back up. So all this time, we were arguing over a simple headache?"

"Yeah, that's what he told me."

Sitting down, the exhausted Icelander sighed. "I should've known better. If I did, we wouldn't have made things worse."

Sweden and Finland looked at each other. "I wonder what how he thinks of us right now." Said Finland.

"I don't kn'w, T'no. If h' ev'r forg'ves us, th't m'ght t'ke a wh'le." (I don't know, Tino. If he ever forgives us, that might take a while.)

Looking up the stairs, Denmark whispered to himself, "Then there's only one thing for me to do."

"What?" The other three couldn't hear what he said.

"Excuse me." Denmark started his way up the stairs.

"Don't do anything stupid." He heard Iceland call after him.

* * *

"Norge?" Denmark said quietly as he leaned against Norway's bedroom door. "Are you there?"

When there was no answer, Denmark tried again. "Psst, Norge?"

That was when he finally noticed a soft sound coming from behind the door.

_Is Norge crying? _Denmark wondered.

"Norge, let me in! Are you all right?" Once again, his words were ignored. "Come on, or I'll have to use...you know!"

Silence.

Denmark disappeared for a moment, then came back with his axe. He raised it to the door, pulled it back and...

"Denmark!"

The Dane spun his head back to see Finland staring at him.

"Not now, Tino! I've got some business to do here!"

"Well, you can't just break down his door like this. There's got to be another way."

"If only he would talk to me!" Denmark said in such an infuriated way that made Finland jump backwards.

"Calm down, Den. Go downstairs and sit for a few minutes."

"No. I don't want to come down. I want to talk to Norge." As he said that, Denmark's anger had ebbed away. For a while, the two Nordics just stood there in silence.

After what must have been fifteen minutes, they heard a loud gasp coming from Norway's room.

"Norge!" Denmark whispered. He started tugging at the door, which made loud knocking sounds.

"No! Don't hurt me! Please!"

_What?_ Both nations thought at the same time.

"Norge, it's us! Open up!"

"Oh, it's just you, Denmark. What did I tell you about invading my personal space?" Came the voice from behind the door.

"Come on, please? I'll give you a cookie!"

"No. Don't bother me right now."

Finland stepped foward. "I think you should leave me to this, Denmark." He knocked on the door. "Open up. It's me, Tino."

"What is it? Is it important?"

"Um...sort of? Just let me in there."

"Hm..." Was the response he got. It took another ten minutes before they finally heard the clicking of a lock.

The door was opened, but only by a small crack. "What do you want?"

"Norge!" Denmark immediately sprang at him. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset!"

"Denmark."

"I shouldn't have done that, I really shouldn't..."

"Denmark."

"If there's anything I really want right now, it's for you to forgive me!"

"DENMARK! Settle down already." At that, Denmark's rambling stopped. When he opened his mouth to say something else, Norway stopped him.

"I'm not feeling too good right now, but I'll forgive you this time. Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

"YAY!"

"Don't knock over the desk."

"Hey, what the hell is going on up here?" Thanks to all the noise earlier, Iceland and Sweden were here as well.

"Oh, it's you guys." Norway said blankly. Sweden and Iceland looked at each other, remembering what happened.

"J'st so you kn'w, we're s'rry. I't w'n't h'ppen 'gain." (Just so you know, we're sorry. It won't happen again.)

"I guess I'll forgive you guys too." Norway sighed and hung his head.

"What's wrong? And why were you screaming earlier?"

Norway hesitated before saying, "I had another nightmare. I guess this headache is getting the better of me."

"Aw, cheer up." Finland said, trying to lift the Norwegian's spirits. "It won't last. And besides, Peter's arriving at our place tomorrow, so we've all got something to look forward to."

Norway lifted his head. "I guess. Maybe it won't be so bad."

Despite his monotone voice, everyone knew that he was feeling better right now.

"Well, how about we go downstairs and make dinner, Berwald?"

"V'ry w'll." (Very well.)

"Come on, Norge. Why don't you, me, and Iceland do something fun downstairs?"

Although Norway wasn't really into Denmark's antics, he accepted.

* * *

**There we go. Once again, I'm sorry about taking so long to update.**

**The next chapter will probably be posted in a few days to a week. If not, then it probably means that my writer's block took over my mind again.**

**If I don't have any trouble updating, I guess I'll see you soon.**

**-Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


	9. Chapter 9: The Loyalty of a Friend

**After another EXTREMELY bad case of writer's block, here I am again. **

**After realizing that I haven't updated in over two months, I've finally decided to post the ninth chapter. Yeah, I know it's a pretty long time between updates, but besides having writer's block, I also had responsibilities I had to handle during the summer. I hope you will all forgive me and enjoy this chapter.  
**

* * *

The rest of the day went by quicker than usual. The next morning, Sealand showed up at the house, along with a stressed-looking England.

"Hey, Peter." Finland said as he opened the door for them. "You sure look excited today."

Sealand nodded. "Of course. I'll be away from the British jerk for the day."

"What did you say?" Britain yelled in outrage.

"British jerk." Sealand replied, smirking.

"You'll pay for that...when I return." Disgruntled, England walked out the door.

* * *

While everyone was greeting Sealand and England downstairs, Norway had stayed in his room. He'd forgotten about his traumatic incident the night before, but was unlucky enough to have it run through his mind the next morning.

Gently, he touched the red streak on his arm. He'd thought that it would go away by the next day, but there it was, haunting him. He wondered how that mysterious entity had been able to touch him through his dreams. Also, why didn't she respect his wishes and leave him alone?

As he considered this interesting problem, he heard a voice. "Norge?"

Norway looked up, seemingly unaffected. "What, Denmark?"

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all, I was just, err, thinking about yesterday."

"Well, come on down, lazy. Peter's here!" Denmark said, in his usual playful tone.

"Fine, I'm coming with you." Norway said. As much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to enjoy Denmark's company.

* * *

In the family room, Norway felt far better than he had while he was alone. The now bright, cheerful atmosphere of the house had been restored through Sealand's arrival, and as everyone talked and watched television, Norway scarcely gave a thought to what he had gone through.

He didn't feel the time drift away as he flipped through the pages of a Norse mythology book. At some point, though, a TV conversation managed to catch his attention.

_"Mom, I think there's someone in my room." A boy of about 16 said, trying to explain why he didn't want to go to bed. _

_"Are you sure? That's what you've been telling us all week."_

_"I'm positive. Every night when all the lights are off, he comes to me and stares into me with these empty eyes...and whenever I try to sleep, he's still right there, in my dreams. It scares me so much that I don't even want to sleep anymore."_

_"Look, I always go in there and nothing strange happens. I'm sure it's your imagination." _

_"Mom, I'm not kidding! You've got to believe me!"_

_"This is serious, Andrew. If this keeps up, I'll have to call a psychologist."_

_"Mom, please...!"_

"Norge!" Norway was snapped out of his trance by a sharp poke to the shoulder_. _In response, he yelled, "_Stopp! Kan du la meg være alene?" _

When he saw Denmark jump backward at his voice, his heart sank as he realized whom he'd just lashed out at.

"Norge, I was gonna ask if you wanted a drink." Denmark said, quite surprised.

"Oh, _Beklager, Danmark._" Norway said, voice cracking slightly. Quickly switching back to his monotone, he added, "I'd like a glass of cold water."

"Well, in that case, I'll be right back." Denmark strode into the kitchen as Norway watched intently. _Why did that have to happen at a time like this? _

"Papa, what just happened?" Sealand's voice came, out of nowhere.

"It's n'th'ng for y'u t' w'rry about." (It's nothing for you to worry about.)

Meanwhile, Norway had gone back to his book. Iceland, who had witnessed his brother's outburst of emotion, couldn't bring himself to turn away from him. He kept his eyes on Norway, anxious to know if something was wrong. After some time, Iceland was starting to fall asleep.

"Here you go, Norge." Denmark said as he walked towards the family room, handing Norway a glass of water.

"_Takk._" Norway said, barely looking up. He took a few sips and set the glass down on the coffee table. Iceland thought, _It doesn't look like anything's causing him stress. Not right now, at least._

"Don't touch me, Denmark." Norway suddenly said out of nowhere.

"Norge, I didn't do anything." Denmark replied, utterly confused.

"Then what was with-" Norway hesitated, then sharply said, "Whoever's doing that, please stop it!"

"_Noregur, _there's no one there." Iceland said, giving him a concerned look.

"_Island, _I'm certain I felt someone touch my shoulder. They won't leave me alone." Norway barely whispered, clutching a nearby cushion for dear life.

"Are you okay, Norway?" Finland asked softly.

All Norway could think of saying was, _No, I'm not okay, and I'm not even sure if you care. _But what came out instead was, "I'm fine. Please don't disturb me like this."

"I'm just making sure you're fine." Finland said, somewhat confused at what Norway meant by "disturb."

Before Norway could answer to that, he shot a look at the empty air behind him. "Ugh, that's it! I'm out of here!" And with that, he stormed off into the backyard, slamming the door behind him.

"What's wrong with Uncle Norge?" Sealand asked Sweden and Finland.

"I think...Uncle Norge is just trying to deal with something that happened a while ago. He'll be fine." Finland replied, not knowing what else to say to the innocent child.

* * *

Once outside, Norway flopped down under his favorite tree and heaved a great sigh.

"I hate this place. I just want to get the hell out and not go through this again. This has gone way too far." Norway muttered to himself. Normally, resting under the family's beech tree was a pleasant experience, but he was too overwhelmed to enjoy even the chirping of nearby birds. He closed his eyes, hoping it would help him ignore the rest of the world.

"Norge!" Came a voice that made Norway sigh in annoyance. Although he couldn't see who had called him, he recognized the voice right away.

"Go away, Denmark." Norway said as firmly as possible, hoping the Dane would take a hint. But almost immediately, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Denmark." Norway spoke sharply as he opened his eyes. "I don't need you here. Okay?"

"Norge, I won't leave you if there's something wrong." Denmark said, unwilling to budge. He grabbed Norway's arm and pulled him into a sitting position.

"Hey, don't pull my arm like that." But of course, Denmark ignored him. As much as he hated to do so, Norway decided to give in to the Dane's persistence. In a gentler tone than usual, he said, "Denmark, you know you worry about me too much, right?"

"Really? I don't think so."

Norway shook his head. "Never mind."

Silence followed as Denmark ran his fingers through Norway's smooth blond hair. Norway didn't really object to that, as it actually seemed calming to him.

"Denmark?" Said nation looked up and answered, "Yes, Norgie?"

Trying not to look directly into Denmark's eyes, Norway said silently, "Thanks for looking out for me."

At that, the surprised Denmark joyfully replied, "You're welcome, Norge!" The next thing Norway knew, Denmark had kissed him on the cheek.

Seemingly unaffected, Norway continued, "I hope this isn't too much to ask for, but...I'd like us to keep sitting under the tree like this."

Denmark agreed, and for both of them, all was peaceful again.

* * *

**Norwegian Translation:**

**Stopp! Kan du la meg være alene? - Stop! Can you please leave me alone?**

**Beklager, Danmark - I'm sorry, Denmark**

**To make it up to you guys, I'll try hard to post the next chapter up really soon. This is probably the shortest author's note I've written :o**

**-Blue Cotinga Girl  
**


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